Preventing Discrimination in the Federal Aid Program:
A Systematic and Interdisciplinary Approach

The following narrative describes the Federal-aid highway
program. It is primarily
for the guidance of Federal and State Civil Rights personnel
as well as Federal
and State program personnel since both groups charged with
the effective execution
of nondiscrimination laws and regulations relating to the
Federal-aid highway
process. The information and terms used in this guide may
vary from State to State.
Therefore, questions regarding how the Federal-aid highway
process is carried out
in any particular State should be directed to appropriate
program area personnel.
It should further serve as an opportunity for Civil Rights
personnel and program
area personnel to work closely in carrying out their mutual
nondiscrimination
program responsibilities.

The planning process
A. General
There are various analysis and studies which are completed
in the process of developing
an efficient transportation plan. States have the primary responsibility
for preparing
and maintaining the statewide plan and the Statewide Transportation
Improvement
Program (STIP). Many Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPO)
have their own staff
which perform most of the technical work. Other MPOs rely on a
consortium of State
and local government staff to perform the necessary technical
analysis. In the smaller
urban areas, the State may do the analysis for the MPO. Occasionally,
when MPOs do
not have the capabilities, consultants may be hired to conduct
planning studies, traffic
studies, corridor studies, or other highly technical work.
Major changes were made in the planning process by ISTEA. The
changes are reflected
in the implementing rules 23 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR)
450, jointly published
by FHWA and the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) in the October
28, 1993, Federal
Register. Subpart B covers statewide planning and Subpart C covers
metropolitan planning.
Related regulations are in 23 CFR 500 deaIing with Management
and Monitoring Systems
and in 40 CFR 51 and 93, dealing with air quality conformity.
Implementation of the
Federal planning requirements is a cooperative process involving
several key agencies.
The FTA and FHWA jointly oversee the planning process.

B. Statewide Planning
A statewide transportation planning process is now required.
There was no requirement
for statewide planning prior to ISTEA. The statewide transportation
planning process
produces long-range intermodal statewide transportation plans
and short-range programs
of projects. The decision-making effort for this process is
open for input from a variety
of participants and any others who wish to be involved. The
short-range program of
projects is called a STIP and must include at least all projects
proposed to be funded
by Title 23 or FTA funds. The ISTEA and the rules contain a
list of 23 factors that
must be considered in the statewide planning process. The 23
factors are listed here
and at 23 CFR 450.208.

Factors Considered in the Statewide Planning Process
1. The transportation needs (strategies and other results)
identified through the
management systems required by 23 United States Code (U.S.C.)
303 (modified
by the National Highway System).
2. Any Federal, State, or local energy use goals, objectives,
programs, or requirements.
3. Strategies for incorporating bicycle transportation facilities
and pedestrian
walkways in appropriate projects throughout the State.
4. International border crossings and access to ports, airports,
intermodal transportation
facilities, major freight distribution routes, national
parks, recreation
and scenic areas, monuments and historic sites, and military
installations.
111 the planning process
5. The transportation needs of nonmetropolitan areas (areas
outside of MPO planning
boundaries) through a process that includes consultation
with local elected officials
with jurisdiction over transportation.
6. Any metropolitan area plan developed pursuant to 23 U.S.C.
134 and Section 8 of
the Federal Transit Act, 49 U.S.C. app. 1607.
7. Connection between metropolitan planning areas within
the State and with
metropolitan planning areas in other States.
8. Recreational travel and tourism;
9. Any State plan developed pursuant to the Federal Water
Pollution Control Act,
33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq. (and in addition to plans pursuant
to the Coastal Zone
Management Act).
10. Transportation system management and investment strategies
designed to make
the most efficient use of existing transportation facilities
(including consideration
of a11 transportation modes).
11. The overall social, economic, energy, and environmental
effects of transportation
decisions (including housing and community development effects
and effects on
the human, natural, and manmade environments).
12. Methods to reduce traffic congestion and to prevent
traffic congestion from
developing in areas where it does not yet occur, including
methods which reduce
motor vehicle travel, particularly single-occupant motor
vehicle travel.
13. Methods to expand and enhance appropriate transit services
and to increase the
use of such services (including commuter rail).
14. The effect of transportation decisions on land use and
land development, including
the need for consistency between transportation decision-making
and the provisions
of all applicable short-range and long-range land use and
development plans (analysis
should include projections of economic, demographic, environmental
protection,
growth management and land use activities consistent with
development goals and
transportation demand projections).
15. Strategies for identifying and implementing transportation
enhancements where
appropriate throughout the State.
16. The use of innovative mechanisms for financing projects,
including value-capture
pricing, tolls, and congestion pricing.
17. Preservation of rights-of-way for construction of future
transportation projects,
including identification of unused rights-of-way which may
be needed for future
transportation corridors, identification of those corridors
for which action is
most needed to prevent destruction or loss (including strategies
for preventing
loss of rights-of-way).

18. Long-range needs of the State transportation system
for movement of persons
and goods.
19. Methods to enhance the efficient movement of commercial
motor vehicles.
20. The use of life-cycle costs in the design and engineering
of bridges, tunnels,
or pavements.
21. The coordination of transportation plans programs developed
for metropolitan
planning areas of the State under 23 U.S.C. 134 and Section
8 of the Federal Transit
Act with the statewide transportation plans and programs
developed under this
subpart, and the reconciliation of such plans and programs
as necessary to ensure
connectivity within transportation systems.
22. Investment strategies to improve adjoining State and
local roads that support rural
economic growth and tourism development, Federal agency
renewable resources managemnt,
and multipurpose land management practices, including recreation
development.
23. The concerns of Indian tribal governments having jurisdiction
over lands within
the boundaries of the State.

C. Metropolitan Planning
The planning process that has been required since the 1962
Highway Act has been greatly
enhanced by ISTEA. Just like the statewide planning process,
the metropolitan planning
process must produce a long-range plan and transportation
improvement program
(TIP) that includes at least all projects that are to
be Title 23- or FTA-funded and all
others involving an FHWA or FTA approval action. Financial
considerations, movement
of environmental considerations into the planning process,
etc., are emphasized in
the ISTEA and in the implementing rules. The ISTEA and
its rules contain a list of 15
factors that must be considered in the metropolitan planning
process. The National
Highway Designation Act of 1995 added a sixteenth item
referred to as Recreational
Travel and Tourism. These factors are listed below and
in 23 CFR 450.316.
16 Factors Considered in the Metropolitan Planning Process
1. Preservation of existing transportation facilities
and, where practical, ways to meet
transportation needs by using existing transportation
facilities more efficiently.
2. Consistency of transportation planning with applicable
Federal, State, and local
energy conservation programs, goals, and objectives.
3. The need to relieve congestion and prevent congestion
from occurring where it
does not yet occur including:
a. The consideration of congestion management strategies
or actions which improve
the mobility of people and goods in all phases of the
planning process; and
b. In Transportation Management Areas, a congestion management
system that
provides for effective management of new and existing
transportation facilities
through the use of travel demand reduction and operation
management
strategies (e.g., various elements of Intelligent Transportation
Systems) shall
be developed in accordance with Section 450.320.
4. The likely effect of transportation policy decisions
on land use and development
and the consistency of transportation plans and programs
with the provisions of
all applicable short- and long-term land use and development
plans. The analysis
should include projections of metropolitan planning area
economic, demographic,
environmental protection, growth management, and land
use activities consistent
with metropolitan and local/central city development
goals (community, economic,
housing, etc.), and projections of potential transportation
demands based on the
inter-related level of activity in these areas.
5. Programming of expenditures for transportation enhancement
activities as required
under 23 U.S.C. 133.
6. The effects of all transportation projects to be undertaken
within the metropolitan
planning area, without regard to the source of funding
(the analysis shall consider
the effectiveness, cost effectiveness, and financing
of alternative investments in
meeting transportation demands and supporting the overall
efficiency and effectiveness
of transportation system performance and related impacts
on community/centraI
city goals regarding social and economic development,
housing, and employment).
7. International border crossings and access to ports,
airports, intermodal transportation
facilities, major freight distribution routes, national
parks, recreation areas,
monuments and historic sites, and military installations
(supporting technical efforts
should provide an analysis of goods and services movement
problem areas, as
determined in cooperation with appropriate private sector
involvement, including,
but not limited to, addressing interconnected transportation
access and service
needs of intermodal facilities).
8. Connectivity of roads within metropolitan planning
areas with roads outside of
those areas;
9. Transportation needs identified through the use of
the management systems required
under 23 U.S.C. 303 (strategies identified under each
management system will be
analyzed during the development of the transportation
plan, including its financial
component, for possible inclusion in the metropolitan
plan and TIP).
10. Preservation of rights-of-way for construction of
future transportation projects,
including future transportation corridors.
11. Enhancement of the efficient movement of freight.
12. The use of life-cycle costs in the design and engineering
of bridges, tunnels,
or pavement (operating and maintenance costs must be
considered in analyzing
transportation alternatives).

13. The overall social, economic, energy, and environmenta1
effects of transportation
decisions (including consideration of the effects and
impacts of the plan on the
human, natural and man-made environment such as housing,
employment and
community development, consultation with appropriate
resource and permit agencies
to ensure early and continued coordination with environmental
resource protection
and management plans, and appropriate emphasis on transportation
related air
quality problems in support of the requirements of 23
U.S.C. 109(h), and section 14
of the Federal Transit Act (49 U.S.C. l6l0), section
4(f) of the DOT Act (49 U.S.C. 303)
and section 174(b) of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7504(b)).
14. Expansion, enhancement, and increased use of transit
services.
15. Capital investments that would result in increased
security in transit systems.
16. Tourism and recreation.
Long-range plans frame the State’s long-range transportation
goals and objectives
for the State and/or region. Projects should be identified
and programmed on the
STIP and ultimately implemented. The projects implemented
from the STIP should be
in line with the goals and objectives identified in the
long-range plan.
Projects are placed on the STIP or TIP through a cooperative
process involving the
State DOT, MPOs, and transit operators. Project priorities
are established in the TIP
development process and revised through procedures that
meet the project selection
stipulations in 23 U.S.C. 134 and 135 for the various
funding categories. An implementing
agency then advances projects from the approved STIP.

D. Potential TitIe VI Issues and Suggested Mitigation
of
Adverse Impacts
Plans and programs have the potential of being discriminatory
in more subtle ways
than projects. The major area of impact by plans and
programs is through decisions
which identify one or more planned improvements over
other options. This consequence
may result from procedures and processes that shut
a group out of the process, or
from the failure to consider the impacts of various
transportation system alternatives

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